napalm

What it is and what it does

NAPALM is a Python library that abstracts network device vendor differences behind a single API, letting you write automation code once and run it against multiple supported platforms. It handles the low-level details of connecting via SSH, NETCONF, or vendor APIs, and provides methods to retrieve device facts, configuration data, and operational state, as well as to push configuration changes.

The library is designed for network engineers and automation platforms (Ansible, SaltStack, StackStorm) that need to manage heterogeneous networks without rewriting logic for each vendor. It depends on vendor-specific libraries like netmiko, junos-eznc, and ncclient to handle device communication, and uses textfsm and jinja2 for parsing and templating. Device-specific caveats and feature requirements are documented, and the library provides a CLI tool for testing connectivity and basic operations.

Use it for:

• Retrieve operational data (facts, interfaces, routes) from multiple vendor devices in a single script.
• Push configuration changes to routers from different vendors using a unified method call.
• Integrate network device management into Ansible playbooks or SaltStack states without vendor-specific modules.
• Validate network device configurations by comparing running and intended state across a fleet.
• Build custom network automation tools that work across multiple supported network operating systems.

Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying

NAPALM provides a unified Python API to interact with network devices from multiple vendors, abstracting away vendor-specific differences for configuration management and data retrieval.

Yes—if you manage or automate networks with multiple vendor devices. NAPALM is actively maintained, has no known vulnerabilities, and is widely adopted. The 15 runtime dependencies are substantial but necessary for vendor support; verify your target devices are in the supported list before committing. Requires Python 3.10+.

Install

napalm on PyPI

pip install napalm

uv add napalm

poetry add napalm

Installing napalm

Before you install

Low install friction with a pure-Python wheel. Active maintenance with a release 18 days ago and 2486 GitHub stars. Requires Python 3.10+. Brings 15 runtime dependencies including paramiko, netmiko, junos-eznc, and ncclient for vendor-specific device communication.

License in practice

Apache-2.0 permissive license allows commercial and private use with minimal restrictions, making it suitable for enterprise network automation workflows.

Quickstart

pip install napalm

from napalm import get_network_driver

driver = get_network_driver('ios')
device = driver('hostname', 'username', 'password')
device.open()
facts = device.get_facts()
device.close()

Requires network device access with valid credentials; device must support one of NAPALM's supported operating systems and may require specific feature enablement (e.g., XML agent on IOS-XR, NXAPI on NXOS).

Verify before relying

• Exact list of supported network operating systems and device models beyond the reference to external documentation.
• Performance characteristics when managing large numbers of devices or retrieving large configuration files.
• Whether all 15 runtime dependencies are required for basic use or if some are optional per vendor.

Package facts

Evidence: napalm-5.2.0-py3-none-any.whl

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